Mantras

I have a mantra I keep repeating when people (my sons especially) "diss" an idea that is new or threatening to them: "Condemnation without investigation is the height of arrogance."

I quote it smugly when they groan about something I've come across in the healthcare field. I repeat it and direct them to a recent article in Time when the subject is the value of family meals. I love to trot it out when I want to try something new in the garden or in the kitchen. A new effort at organization or household efficiency is another good occasion to rehearse the mantra.

Perhaps the mantra notion is catching. Shane chided me with one of his own recently when I expressed my emphatic opinion that "they deserved every bit of it" when a group of young people who knew better were discovered and charged with underage drinking. He said mildly, "Mom, I really think you need to work on being able to form opinions. You seem to have a real problem doing that." I think I probably need to investigate the implications of that comment.